caponizing question

[jdopler]

i have a mixed flock and am adding more babies in addition to trying my hand at incubating.. so I am wondering if anyone has tried caponizing birds and what were your results problems or any advice for someone new to the idea... if it seemed a waste of time or worth the work and risk? any advice is helpful thx

 

[jdopler]

hopefully someone has experience here. since i am raising large breeds the cockerels could be a problem before getting to size andi have read that capons dont crow grow larger and arent aggressive but i worry about losses
my apologies on lack of typng skill since my computer crashed i am forced to surf on my kindle..

its been interesting to say the least

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

do a search on this thread there has been several great conversations concerning caponizing in the last few months.

 

[Delmar]

Check out this thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=472475

 

[jdopler]

thanks I will start reading!

 

[eatmorechicken]

I caponized a bunch of cockerels few years back. I had very mixed success. I had no training, I didn't even open up a dead bird to get familiar with the anatomy. The first batch I killed a lot of birds from rupturing the vessel near the testis and from taking too long while the bird was open. After losing a few birds I tried to speed it up and tried staying away from the blood vessel. As a result, I didn't remove the whole testis... All of the birds that survived turned out to be slips. I had poor lighting and no experience. The second batch was much better and got some actual capons, but I still had a few deaths and slips. I found that you need excellent lighting. I used a head lamp because it is cold compared to a 65 watt light bulb, and could change the direction of lighting easily. I practiced my hand dexterity by doing artwork... I do pottery and paintings. I used the Nasco kit. I used the tweezers by pinching the testis... twist slightly and pull. By doing this I ran the risk of hitting the blood vessel (because the tweezers have corners), and could pinch off a portion of the testis resulting in a slip. The scoop that came in the kit didn't help me at all. I had more deaths with that tool than the tweezers. Maybe it works for somebody else. I'm going to be caponizing again this year, and I'm going to try the asian loop method and I may try the tweezer and scoop again.

 

[eatmorechicken]

Quote:
It wasn't a waste of time for me. I learned a few lessons from the experience, and got a few capons as well. All I was risking was a few unwanted cockerels. Caponizing, IMHO, works great for slow maturing breeds (orps, giants, brahmas, cornish). Its kinda pointless to caponize rapid growing birds like Cornish crosses, freedom rangers. In my experience the birds were not any bigger than their intact counterparts. At 1 year old, they had a texture and flavor similar to a laying pullet. They are supposed to have a little more fat than a hen, but I don't remember if mine did or not. I beleive that birds that are given time to live will develop superior flavor and caponizing is a good way to do that.